NOTES   ON   THE   HISTORY, 

CUSTOMS,  AND  BELIEFS  OF 
THE  MISSISSAGUAS 


BY 

A.  F.  CHAMBERLAIN,  B.  A. 

If, 

Fellow  in  Modern' Languages  in  Unwe.j&j'-v  College,  Toronto 


[Refrintcdfrom  The  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore, 
July,  i888\ 


CAMBRIDGE 

PrintcD  at  rtje  HitjersiiDe  pre^s 
1888 


Brer  Rabbit  and  Brer  Fox.  149 

cold  enough  yet."  An'  so  it  go  on;  but  Brer  Rabbit  he  nebber 
find  de  mo'nin'  cold  enough.  Brer  Fox  he  'gin  to  git  sorter  uneasy 
like,  'cause  Brer  Rabbit  eat  a  powerful  sight,  and  his  cabbage  purty 
near  run  out.  Last,  dey  come  one  mighty  cold  mo'nin'>  and  Brer 
Fox  he  say:  "Brer  Rabbit,  dis  here  cold  enough  ? "  Den  Brer  Rab- 
bit he  begin  to  beg,  and  say  he  don't  want  to  die  yet ;  but  Brer 
Fox  say  he  got  to.  So  den  Brer  Rabbit  he  say  dat  he  t'ink  it  cold 
enough,  and  he  'fraid  he  die  a  mighty  hard  death  out  dar. 

So  Brer  Fox  he  open  de  pen  an'  take  Brer  Rabbit  out,  an'  put 
him  down  on  de  snow,  an*  den  he  sot  down  on  de  doorstep  see  him 
die ;  but  Brer  Rabbit  he  ain't  got  no  notion  dyin'  jes'  den,  so  he 
say :  "  Oh,  you  g.-'^at  big  fool,  dis  here  jes'  what  I  been  use  to  all  de 
days  of  my  life."  An'  he  go  off  through  the  bushes  lickety  split. 
Brer  Fox  he  feel  awful  bad,  but  couldn't  help  hisself,  'cause  de 
snow  so  deep  he  can't  run  ;  so  Brer  Rabbit  he  got  off  scot-free. 

Gerard  Fowke. 

WASHIiS'GTON,  D.  C. 


1 50  yournal  0/  A  tnerican  Folk-Lore. 


NOTES   ON   THE   HISTORY,   CUSTOMS,  AND   BELIEFS 
OF  THE   MISSISSAGUA   INDIANS. 

Messisaga  Avenue,  in  the  town  of  Parkdale,  Old  Fort  Missis- 
satiga,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Niagara,  Mississauga  River,  in  the 
district  of  Algoma,  and  Mississauga  Strait,  between  Cockburn  and 
Manitoulin  islands,  preserve  the  name  of  an  Indian  tribe  who,  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  occupied  a  considerable 
portion  of  what  is  now  the  province  of  Ontario,  and  whose  descend- 
ants still  exist  at  the  Mississagua  settlement  of  the  New  Credit, 
and  on  the  reservations  at  Alnwick  (since  1830),  Rice  Lake  (since 
18 18),  Chemong  Lake  (since  1829),  and  Scugog  Lake  (since  1842). 

In  the  "Jesuit  Relations"  for  the  years  1670-71  are  mentioned 
the  Mississagiih,  who  dwelt  on  the  river  Missisauga,  and  were  then 
distinguished  from  other  branches  of  the  Algonkin  stock  on  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Huron.  Subsequently  they  appear  to  have  gradually 
moved  eastward  and  southward,  and  to  have  extended  themselves 
over  a  great  part  of  Upper  Canada. 

With  regard  to  the  relations  between  the  Missisaguas  and  Iro- 
quois, the  Rev.  Allen  Salt,  of  Parry  Island,  a  member  of  the  Mis- 
sisagua  tribe  of  Alnwick,  makes  the  following  statement :  — 

The  Indian  way  of  pronouncing  the  word  {missisaga)  is  viinzeza- 
gee  (plural,  minzczagecg),  and  signifies,  in  the  plural,  persons  who 
inhabit  the  country  where  there  are  many  mouths  of  rivers,  as  the 
Trent,  Moira,  Shannon,  Napanee,  Kingston  River,  and  Gananoque. 
The  Missisagas  are  regarded  as  descendants  of  the  Ojebways,  who 
in  1759  conquered  the  Iroquois,  after  a  long  war  of  a  hundred 
years.  According  to  tradition,  the  Ojebways  of  Lake  Superior 
came  in  bark  canoes  to  Georgia  Bay,  and  destroyed  the  Iroquois, 
as  the  latter  had  done  the  Hurons.  At  the  same  time  the  Northern 
Ojebways  followed  the  course  of  the  rivers  running  southerly,  de- 
stroying their  enemies.  The  Mohawks,  who  were  at  Cataraqui, 
escaped  to  the  other  side  of  Lake  Ontario,  but  in  course  of  years 
returned,  asked  for  peace,  and  obtained  a  tract  of  land  extending 
from  the  Shannon  River  to  the  Napanee,  and  some  distance  back  of 
the  bay  (as  far  as  the  report  of  a  gun  can  be  heard),  where  they  are 
now  living.  The  Iroquois  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  also 
asked  the  Missisagas  of  the  north  shore  for  a  tract  of  land,  and 
obtained  that  on  the  Grand  River,  where  they  are  now  established. 

When  the  Credit  chiefs,  Missisagas,  were  on  their  way  to  the 
west  to  see  the  land  reserved,  they  stopped  at  the  Grand  River. 
The  Six  Nation  chiefs  asked  them  :  "  Where  are  you  going } " 
"We  are  going  west  to  look  for  a  better  land  for  our  people."    The 


Notes  on  the  Missistxgua  Indians.  151 

reply  was  :  "  Ycu  need  not  go  farther.  We  remember  the  time 
when  we  did  the  same,  and  you  gave  us  this  land.  We  also  give 
you  a  portion  of  this  land."  There  the  Credit  Missisagas  are  now 
living.  Such  is  the  account  of  Mr.  Salt,  who  adds  that  the  tradi- 
tions he  heard  as  a  boy  are  the  same  as  those  told  by  the  Ojebways 
of  Georgian  Bay,  Lake  Superior,  and  Rainy  Lake. 

Travellers  of^the  present  century  agree  that  the  Missisaguas,  prior 
to  their  conversion,  were  drunken,  worthless,  and  lazy  savages,  wan- 
dering, half-starved,  and  even  at  times  forced  to  subsist  on  bark. 
But  the  missionary  {makahtawek,  the  black-coat  man)  came  among 
them,  told  them  of  the  love  of  God  {kezhemuncdoo),  and  endeavored 
to  benefit  them  temporarily  as  well  as  spiritually.  Instead  of  the  rude 
camping-station  by  the  river-side,  reeking  with  filth,  were  seen  tidy 
wigwams  of  bark  and  the  first  signs  of  a  settled  life.  In  1824  the 
first  Indian  church  (Methodist)  rose  on  the  banks  of  the  Credit.  In 
1850,  all  the  Missisaguas,  'vith  individual  exceptions,  were  reckoned 
as  converted.  That  this  has  been  to  their  infinite  benefit  is  beyond 
doubt.  They  have  almost  entirely  given  up  their  passion  for  whiskey 
{scoittiwabo) ;  their  dress,  their  dwellings,  their  mode  of  life,  have 
greatly  improved,  and  they  may  well  exclaim,  as  did  the  Indians  of 
Rice  Lake  years  ago  :  "  0  kezhainunedo  meqiiaichsah  wawaneh  zvccn- 
ta/ima  kooyong  mahmin  ketekctoomenun ;  'wetookahwcsheno7n  sah 
cheeahgeentenaniong"  (O  thou  great,  good  spirit,  we  thank  thee  for 
hearing  thy  words  ;  help  us  to  hold  them  fast). 

In  1847  the  Indians  of  the  Credit  removed  to  the  Six  Nation 
reservation  near  the  city  of  Brantford,  where  they  founded  the  New 
Credit  settlement.  These  are  the  most  advancea  in  civilization  of 
the  Missisaguas.  The  returns  for  1887  {i.  e.  up  to  December,  1886) 
give  the  total  number  cf  the  Missisaguas  as  756  (at  the  New  Credit, 
239;  Alnwick,  229;  Chemong  {i.  e.  Canoe)  Lake,  154;  Rice  Lake, 
90;  Scugog,  44),  showing  a  slight  increase  over  the  numbers 
of  seven  years  ago.  This  increase,  however,  is  only  apparent,  as 
.  the  death-rate  exceeds  the  birth-rate ;  it  is  caused  by  adoptions  and 
admissions  by  marriage.  At  the  New  Credit  settlement  illegiti- 
mates have  long  been  excluded  from  the  tribal  enumeration,  and  the 
Government  Report  for  1884  states  that  this  reform  has  lately  been 
adopted  by  the  Six  Nations.  The  number  of  Indians  of  pure  blood 
on  the  Missisagua  reservations  is  said  to  be  greater  in  proportion 
to  the  total  number  than  that  of  any  other  Indian  tribe  in  Ontario. 

Since  their  conversion,  they  have  abandoned  all  their  idolatrous 
and  many  of  their  innocent  practices  ;  even  their  legends  and  stories 
are  to  a  great  extent  forgotten,  mere  fragments  only  remaining. 
They  have  also,  especially  those  of  the  Credit,  been  influenced 
greatly  by  the  Ojebways  proper,  in  whose  language  their  religious 


152  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

books  are  compiled.  In  what  respects  the  Mississagiia  differed  from 
the  Chippewa  is  not  known  exactly.  The  manuscript  vocabulary 
referred  to  below  is  closely  related  to  La  Hontan's  Old  Algonkin, 
and  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the  Mississagua  was  a  purer 
form  of  Algonkin  speech  than  the  Chippewa. 

In  the  later  years  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  Mississaguas  are  frequently  styled  clan  or  tribe 
of  H?irous,  no  doubt  owing  to  their  alliance  with  the  Six  Nations  in 
1746.  Thus  a  manuscript  French-Indian  vocabulary  (for  a  copy  of 
which  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  James  Bain,  jr.,  the  obliging  chief  of 
the  Toronto  Public  Library),  collected  about  1800-5,  from  the  In- 
dians in  the  neighborhood  of  York  (most  probably  Mississaguas), 
thus  enumerates  the  "  totaims  or  tribes  of  the  Huron  savages : " 
Niguic  couasquidzi,  Otter  tribe ;  Passinassi,  Crane  tribe  ;  Atayita- 
ganii,  Caribou  tribe ;  Oiipapinassi,  Pike  tribe ;  Oicasce  souanau^ 
Birch-bark  tribe ;  Missigomidzi,  White  Oak  tribe  ;  Mississague, 
Eagle  tribe.  By  travellers  the  Mississaguas  are  frequently  cited  as 
the  Eagle  tribe  of  the  Chippewa  nation.  The  Rev.  Peter  Jones 
says  :  "  The  clan  or  tribe  with  whom  I  have  been  brought  up  is 
called  Messissauga,  which  signifies  the  Eagle  tribe ;  their  ensign  or 
toodaim  being  that  of  the  eagle."  He  cites  the  other  tribes  of  the 
Ojebways  as  Reindeer,  Otter,  Bear,  Buffalo,  Beaver,  Catfish,  Pike, 
Birch-bark,  White  Oak,  Bear's  Liver,  etc.  Not  all  the  Indians  on 
the  Mississagua  reservations  belong  to  the  Eagle  tribe,  there  having 
been  admissions  from  Chippewa  clans,  and  even  Mohawks.  At  Aln- 
wick, in  1885,  three  strangers  were  admitted  by  vote  ;  in  1887,  three ; 
at  the  New  Credit  settlement,  in  1885-86,  eight  were  admitted  by 
marriage.  Amongst  the  Mississaguas  of  the  Credit,  the  favorite 
family  and  personal  names  appear  to  have  been  Eagle,  Otter,  Crane, 
Pike,  Bear,  Wild  Goose,  Reindeer,  Catfish,  Beaver,  Birch-bark ;  with 
those  at  Grape  Island,  Pigeon,  Beaver,  Deer,  Skunk,  Bird,  Snake; 
at  Scugog  Lake,  Goose,  Pigeon,  Magpie. 

Names  were  given  to  children  either  from  some  being  or  object 
of  nature,  or  from  some  c  .aracteristic  of  birth  or  of  personal  appear- 
ance. In  early  times  a  feast  was  held,  at  which  the  young  Indian 
was  named  and  committed  to  the  care  of  some  guardian  spirit.  The 
Rev.  Peter  Jones  was  thus  named  Kahkewaqiionaby  (sacred  waving 
feathers),  and  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  thunder-god.  He 
was  given  a  war-club  and  a  bunch  of  eagle  feathers,  symbolic  of  the 
might  and  swiftness  of  the  eagle-god  of  thunder.  When  these  were 
lost,  the  power  of  which  they  were  the  symbol  was  thought  to 
depart  from  the  possessor.  He  was  also  given  a  little  model  of  a 
canoe,  betokening  success  in  hunting.  At  the  naming  of  the  Rev. 
Peter  Jones,  his  maternal  grandfather,  Wabuno  (the  morning  light), 


Notes  on  the  Mississagua  Indians,  1 53 

officiated  ;  the  name  was  inherited  from  the  Eagle  tribe,  to  which 
the  mother  belonged.     The  Indian  name  of  Joseph  Sawyer,  who  in 
1830  succeeded  Ajatanct  as  chief  of  the  Credit  tribe,  was  Nalnvah- 
jekcshegwaby  (the  sky  that  slopes) ;  that  of  David  Sawyer,  his  son 
and  successor,  was  Kezhigkowmene  (the  man  of  the  sky).     Besides 
these  two,  the  chief  men  of  the  Credit  band  in  1837  were  :  Manoo- 
flooding  (the  pleasant  wind),  Pipoonakba  (ruler  of  the  winter),  Sas- 
wayahscga  (the  scattering  light),  Mahyahwegezehigwaby  (the  upright 
sky),  Oominewahjeween  (the  pleasant   stream),    KanahwaJibahnind 
(he  who  is  looked  upon),  AhghawahnaJiqiiahdwaby  (the  cloud  that 
rolls  beyond),  Naningahseya  (the  sparkling  light),  Kahwahqiiayah' 
sega  (the  brightly  shining  sun),  Pahoonibwawinndimg  (the  approach- 
ing roaring  thunder),  Pamegahwayahsing  (he  who  is  blown  down). 
With  the  Mississaguas  it  was  usual  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the 
dead  by  conferring  his  name  on  some  one  else,  or  adopting  some 
one  of  the  same  name.     The  Rev.  Peter  Jones  was  named  after  his 
mother's  brother,  who  had  died  at  the  age  of  seven,  and  when  nine 
years  old  was  given  away  to  an  Indian  chief  who  had  lost  a  son  of 
the  same  name,  and  was  adopted  by  him.     When,  in  1826,  the  In- 
dians of  the  Credit  wished  to  adopt  the  Rev.  Dr.   Ryerson  into 
their  tribe,  the   chief  thus   addressed  him  :     "  Brother,  as  we  are 
brothers,   we  will   give   you  a  name.     My  departed   brother  was 
named  Chechock ;  thou  shalt  be  called  Cheehock  "  (the  bird  on  the 
wing).     When,  in   1882,  the  Indians  of  the  New  Credit  settlement 
received  into  their  tribe  the  white  wife  of  their  chief.  Dr.  P.  E. 
Jones,  she  was  adopted  under  the  name  of   Wabanoogua  (lady  of  the 
morning).     The  mother  of  Rev.  Peter  Jones  was  named  Tahbenah- 
neequay  ;  his  maternal  grandmother,  Puhgashkish ;  his  son,  Wawe- 
yakahmegoo  (the  round  world).     Upon    Mrs.    Moodie   the  Indians 
of  Chemong  Lake  bestowed  the  name  of  Nonocosiqui  (the  humming- 
bird) ;   her  little  son  was  called  Annonk  (star),  and  her  daughter 
Nogesigook  (the  northern  light).     White  settlers  were  nicknamed 
from   their  personal   appearance  :    Muckakee   (bull-frog),    Segoskee 
(rising  sun),  Metig  (a  stick),    Choojas  (ugly  nose),  Sachabo  (cross- 
eyed). 

With  the  Mississaguas,  before  their  conversion,  polygamy  was 
allowed.  A  chief  had  as  many  wives  as  he  could  support.  At  the 
same  time  a  surprising  lack  of  chastity  characterized  the  female  pop- 
ulation. Mrs.  Moodie  records  this  of  the  Indians  of  Chemong  Lake. 
Sometimes  the  husband  inflicted  terrible  punishment  on  the  offend- 
ing women  ;  but  more  often  the  men  winked  at  the  offences  of  their 
wives,  and  even  shared  with  them  the  price  of  their  shame.  Some- 
thing similar  appears  to  have  existed  among  the  Bay  of  Quints 
Indians.     Weld  has  recorded  even  a  worse  state  of  affairs  as  exist- 


1 54  Journal  of  A  merican  Folk-Lore, 

ing  in  1796  amongst  the  Chippewas  at  Maiden.  Christianity  has 
greatly  bettered  the  state  of  affairs,  and  few  instances  have  occurred 
of  late  years  ;  but  even  as  recently  as  1855  Dr.  Hodder  stated  that 
abortion  was  frequently  practised  amongst  the  Rice  Lake  Indians. 

The  Mississaguas  were  preeminently  a  hunting  and  a  fishing 
tribe.  The  valleys  of  the  Credit  or  Mahzcnahcgasecbee  {i.  e.,  the 
river  where  credit  ir  given ;  it  was  a  meeting-place  for  the  Indians 
and  the  traders,  and  the  latter  advanced  to  the  formei  goods  ?  year 
ahead,  trusting  to  their  honesty  for  the  next  season's  furs ;  hence 
the  name),  the  Thame  s  {AshkaiinahsccbeCy  Horn  Ri  /er),  the  Otonabee 
(mouth-water),  the  Moira  {Saganashcocon),  with  the  scries  of  inland 
lakes  between  Lake  Simcoe  and  the  Bay  of  Qainte  formed  their 
chief  hunting  and  fishing  grounds.  Muskoka  district,  river,  and 
lake  commemorate  the  name  of  a  Mississagua  chief,  as  does  Stoco 
Lake  in  the  valley  of  the  Moira.  Lake  Erie  {Wahbcshkegonkeche' 
game,  the  white  water  lake)  they  visited  for  the  sake  ot  its  fish, 
strayed  down  the  Thames  to  Lake  St.  Clair  ( Walnvehyahtahnoohng, 
the  round  lake),  and  occasionally  travelled  into  New  York  State, 
leaving  their  offerings  of  tobacco  beside  the  cataract  of  Niagara 
{Kahkajewang,  the  waterfalls). 

The  Indians  at  Rice  Lake  used  to  shoot  by  night  (in  canoes  with 
torches)  the  deei  {wawasque)  that  came  to  feed  on  the  rice-beds. 
They  also  hunted  the  deer  with  hounds  obtained  from  the  settlers. 

The  Indians  of  Cheniong  Lake  were  accustomed  to  "  bark " 
squirrels  {atvhiiamon) ;  i.  c,  to  make  the  bullet  strike  the  tree  just 
under  the  animal,  so  that  the  splinters  of  bark  killed  it  without  in- 
juring fur  or  flesh.  The  muskrat  {ozasgud),  beaver  {amic),  and  other 
animals  they  caught  by  setting  traps. 

The  usual  method  of  capturing  the  salmon  {azaoiiamec)  was  by 
spsaring,  and  in  the  use  of  the  fish-spear  the  Mississaguas  were 
exceedingly  skilful.  Other  kinds  of  fish  also  were  taken  by  the 
spear,  both  by  day  and  night.  The  mouth  of  thci  river  Credit  was  a 
celebrated  place  f'^r  spearing  salmon,  and  on  its  banks  the  Indians 
annually  camped  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  winter  the  Indians  of  Rice  and  Mud  (or  Chemong)  lakes 
obtained  fish  in  the  following  manner  :  With  his  tomahawk  the 
Indian  cut  a  hole  in  the  ice,  threw  a  blanket  over  him,  and  stood  or 
knelt  for  hours  beside  the  hole.  In  one  hand  he  held  his  fish-spear, 
in  the  other  a  string,  to  which  was  attached  a  decoy-fish  of  wood, 
serving  to  attract  the  prey.  Their  skill  in  this  sort  of  fishing  was 
remarkable,  two  hundred  pounds  of  fish  being  frequently  the  reward 
of  a  day's  labor.  ,--_...-.. --.^.-.  -^ 

;  With  the  Rice  Lake  Indians  a  common  device  in  duck-shooting 
was  to  pile  up  green  brushwood  in  a  canoe,  so  that  it  resembled  a 


Notes  on  the  Missis sagua  Indians.  155 

floatins:  tree  or  small  island.  Hidden  behind  this  leafv  screen,  the 
hunter  was  enabled  to  approach  much  closer  to  his  prey  than  was 
usually  the  case. 

At  Mud  Lake,  each  family  had  its  own  hereditary  hunting-ground, 
and  trespass  upon  it  was  highly  resented.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
winter  season  the  women  retired  to  the  village,  where  they  remained 
until  the  maple-sugar  season  in  the  spring,  while  their  husbands 
traversed  the  forest  to  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  tribe,  to  returif 
laden  with  the  winter's  spoils. 

A  chief  article  of  food  of  the  Mississaguas  was  the  wild  rice 
{monomin).  From  the  abundance  of  this  plant  in  its  waters.  Rice 
Lake  has  received  its  name.  It  was  also  plentiful  along  the 
western  shores  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  Bay  of  Quints.  The 
time  for  gathering  the  rice  is  in  September.  The  method  fol- 
lowed at  Rice  Lake  was  this  :  The  squaws,  who  are  the  harvesters, 
paddle  out  to  the  rice-beds,  and  with  their  paddles,  or  with  sticks 
suited  to  the  purpose,  they  pull  the  heads  down  into  the  canoe, 
and  strike  them,  so  that  the  ripe  grain  falls  to  the  bottom.  Re- 
turning to  the  shore,  they  stick  into  the  ground  pine  or  cedar 
branches,  so  as  to  form  a  square  inclosure.  Within  this  they  drive 
in  forked  sticks,  upon  which  cross-pieces  are  laid,  and  upon  these 
latter  mats  of  bass-wood  or  cedar-bark  are  placed.  Under  this 
framework  a  fire  is  then  lit,  and  the  hedge  of  green  branches  serves 
to  keep  in  the  heat.  The  rice  is  spread  upon  the  mats,  and  kept 
turned  about  with  the  paddle  until  dried.  It  is  then  shaken  m  large 
open  baskets  and  the  husks  are  removed.  When  it  is  desired  to 
parch  it,  the  rice  is  placed  ivi  pots  over  a  slow  fire  until  the  grain 
bursts  and  shows  the  white,  mealy  centre.  Without  further  prepara- 
tion it  is  often  used  by  hunters  and  fishermen  when  out  on  expedi- 
tions. But  more  frequently  it  is  made  into  soups  and  stews.  Another 
method  of  preparing  the  raw  rice  was  this  :  After  it  was  gatnered, 
a  hole  was  dug  in  the  ground,  in  which  a  deerskin  was  placed,  and 
upon  this  the  rice  was  poured.  Boys  were  then  set  to  trample  it 
with  their  feet,  after  which  it  was  winnowed  and  stored  up  for 
future  use.  Another  common  occupaiion  of  the  squaws  was  the 
preparation  of  maple-sugar.  With  the  Indians  of  Chemong  Lake, 
each  family  had  its  own  sugar-bush.  When  the  season  opened  the 
squaws  went  to  the  woods,  erected  camps,  gathered  firewood,  and 
prepared  the  troughs  and  other  necessary  articles.  After  borrowing 
as  many  kettles  as  they  could  obtain,  and  arranging  the  fire,  they 
made  incisions  in  each  tree  with  the  tomahawk,  inserted  the  tube, 
and  placed  the  trough.  The  younger  squaws  were  employed  to  fetch 
the  sap  to  the  fire,  where  the  older  women  kept  up  the  proper  heat, 
and  saw  that  the  stuff  was  kept  stirred  and  properly  cooled  off.     It 


1 56  journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

was  then  broken  up  and  placed  in  birch-bark  baskets  and  offered  for 
sale.  These  boxes  of  birch-bark  the  Rice  Lake  Indians  call  nicw- 
kowks,  and  they  are  said  to  impart  a  peculiar  taste  to  the  sugar. 
The  Mississaguas  of  the  Bay  of  Quint6  also  made  sugar  in  the 
spring,  and  sold  it  to  the  settlers  in  small  bass-wood  bags. 

Their  manufactures  consist  of  their  birch-bark  canoes,  elegantly 
carved  paddles  of  cherry-wood  (at  Rice  Lake),  and  an  infinite  variety 
'bf  useful  and  ornamental  objects  in  birch-bark :  baskets,  boxes, 
trays,  bags,  models  of  canoes,  etc.  These  they  ornament  most 
skilfully  with  beads  and  porcupine-quill  work,  stained  with  various 
dyes.  Of  the  inner  bark  of  the  pine  and  basswood  they  made 
beautiful  mats ;  they  also  employed  this  substance  in  lieu  of  cord 
and  rope.  The  Indians  of  Rice  Lake  were  acquainted  with  many 
vegetable  dyes,  which  they  used  for  staining  their  fancy  birch-bark 
and  porcupine-quill  work.  For  this  purpose  they  used  the  juice  of 
the  Indian  strawberry  and  of  the  sanguinaria.  By  boiling  the  bark 
of  the  swamp  alder  in  water,  the  Mud  Lake  Indians  obtained  a  good 
red  dye,  and  a  rich  yellow  one  was  procured  from  the  root  of  the 
black  briony. 

Like  all  Indians,  the  Mississaguas  were  acquainted  with  Nature's 
remedies.  The  Indians  of  Rice  Lake  were  for  many  years  cele- 
brated for  their  skill  in  the  modical  art;  and  in  i860,  when  the 
Rev.  Peter  Jones  was  dying,  some  of  the  Indians  of  the  New  Credit 
were  eager  to  send  for  the  noted  Indian  doctor  at  Rice  Lake.  As 
late  as  1881,  there  was  among  the  Chemong  Lake  tribe  an  old 
Indian  who  enjoyed  considerable  reputation  as  a  doctor.  At  Rice 
Lake,  a  juice  obtained  from  the  sanguinaria,  or  bloodroot,  was  used 
as  a  remedy  for  rheumatism  and  cutaneous  diseases.  At  Chemong 
Lake, great  medicinal  virtue  w.^*?  attributed  to  the  cranberry;  it  was 
administered  raw  when  treating  for  dysentery ;  and  a  cranberry 
poultice  was  applied  to  relieve  wounds,  inflammations,  tumors,  etc. 
For  the  latter  purpose  they  also  used  poultices  made  from  the  inner 
bark  of  the  bass-wood  and  the  slippery-elm.  The  inner  bark  of  the 
black  briony  was  utilized  to  obtain  a  salve  for  sores  and  tumors. 
They  roasted  and  ground  to  powder  the  inner  bark  of  the  sumach, 
administering  it  between  the  hot  and  cold  fits  as  a  cure  for  ague. 
Whiskey,  into  which  had  been  scraped  a  whitish  powder  from  a  pine- 
tree  fungus,  was  given  as  a  remedy  for  colic  and  stomachic  pains. 
When  indisposed,  the  Indians  of  the  Credit,  in  the  early  years  of 
the  present  century,  used  to  resort  to  the  long  peninsula  (now  an 
island)  forming  the  harbor  of  York  (Toronto),  being  fully  acquainted 
with  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  its  salubrious  atmosphere.  The 
principal  diseases  from  which  the  Mississaguas  have  suffered  in 
years  past  (as  shown  by  government  returns)  are  small-pox,  scarlet 
fever,  consumption,  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and  measles. 


Notes  on  the  Mississagua  Indians.  157 

The  general  religious  ideas  of  the  Mississaguas  are  those  common 
to  all  Algonkins.  The  Indians  of  Chemong  Lake  (and  the  same 
remark  applies  to  the  other  bands)  "  believed  in  supernatural  appear- 
ances, in  spirits  of  the  earth,  the  air,  lakes,  rivers,  etc."  The  spirits 
of  the  water  were  by  them  considered  evil,  and  they  endeavored, 
before  undertaking  a  journey,  to  propitiate  them  by  offerings  of 
small  portions  of  bread,  meat,  tobacco,  and  gunpowder,  which  were 
thrown  into  the  water.  The  Mississaguas  of  the  Bay  of  Quintd, 
before  going  up  the  Saganashcocon  (Moira)  River,  on  their  annual 
hunting  expeditions,  thought  fit  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  spirit  by 
depositing  bits  of  tobacco  on  the  east  shore  of  the  river,  near  its 
mouth.  The  Indians  of  the  Credit  sacrificed  to  the  spirits  of  the 
forest,  the  river,  the  lake.  When  overtaken  by  storm  upon  Lake 
Ontario,  they  would  appease  the  angry  spirit  of  the  waters  by  the 
sacrifice  of  a  black  dog,  around  whose  neck  they  tied  a  stone  and 
cast  him  into  the  lake. 

Remarkable  objects  of  nature  attracted  their  attention  and  be- 
came objects  of  worship ;  and  beneath  lone  pine-trees,  before  gloomy 
caves,  and  beside  rushing  waterfalls,  their  tobacco  offerings  were  sure 
to  be  found.  The  Chemong  Lake  Indians  regarded  Clear  Lake,  a 
beautiful  expanse  of  water,  free  from  weeds  and  river-growths,  with 
superstitious  awe.  The  caverns  in  the  hills  around  Burlington  Bay 
and  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  were  looked  upon  by  the  Mississaguas 
as  the  abodes  of  spirits.  One  of  these,  at  the  foot  of  a  steep 
precipice,  from  which  the  sound  of  explosions  was  often  heard,  was 
called  by  them  Manito-ah  wigivam  (the  house  of  the  devil).  At 
the  foot  of  a  hill  near  the  Credit  village  was  a  deep  hole  in  the 
water.  Here,  the  Indians  said,  a  spirit  was  often  heard  to  sing 
and  beat  his  drum.  When  the  white  man  became  a  too  frequent 
visitor  in  the  neighborhood,  the  spirit  raised  a  great  flood,  and 
departed  down  the  river  into  the  lake.  The  Mississaguas  of  the 
Credit  believed  in  the  existence  of  fairies,  diminutive  sprites,  to 
whom  they  used  to  offer  bits  of  cloth  and  the  like.  The  east 
bank  of  the  Credit,  about  a  mile  from  its  mouth,  and  the  region 
around  Burlington  Bay  were  said  to  be  favored  with  their  presence. 
They  used  to  paddle  a  stone  canoe,  and  when  pursued  would  make 
for  a  high  bank  (within  which  was  their  home),  upon  striking  which 
boat  and  contents  disappeared.  They  were  said  to  be  the  good  genii ' 
of  the  huntsman.  All  the  Indians  believed  in  the  existence  of 
wcndigocs,  or  giants.  Stony  Lake,  up  the  valley  of  the  Otonabee, 
was  reputed  amongst  the  Chemong  Lake  Indians  to  be  haunted  by 
these  beings.  With  the  Mississaguas  of  the  Credit  and  Bay  of 
Quintd  it  was  the  custom  to  blacken  the  face  and  to  fast,  in  order  to 
propitiate  some  adverse  deity.     At  Chemong  Lake  the  father  was 


158  Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

forced  to  keep  a  strict  fast  for  three  days  on  the  death  of  a  child. 
Mrs.  Moodie  has  recorded  a  remarkable  instance  of  this.  The  eldest 
daughter  of  a  chief  of  the  band  had  died  of  the  scarlet  fever.  On 
the  evening  of  the  second  day  of  his  fast  he  lost  another  child. 
He  held  out  until  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day,  when,  stealing  into 
the  woods,  he  caught  a  bull-frog  and  devoured  it  alive.  A  member 
of  the  tribe  noticed  his  action,  and  his  return  to  camp  was  the 
signal  for  an  uproar,  from  which  he  was  forced  to  take  refuge  in  a 
settler's  house.  It  needed  all  the  influence  of  the  settler,  who  was 
very  popular  with  the  Indians,  to  restore  harmony  between  the 
chief  and  his  people. 

At  Chemong  Lake  the  soul  of  an  Indian  who  had  been  drowned 
was  considered  accursed.  He  could  not  enter  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds,  and  his  spirit  haunted  the  spot  where  he  met  his  unlucky 
fate.  His  body  was  buried  on  some  lonely  island,  far  from  the  rest 
of  his  people,  and  the  Indians  never  passed  it  without  leaving  a 
small  portion  of  food,  tobacco,  or  ammunition  to  supply  the  spirit's 
wants.  His  children  were  considered  unlucky,  and  it  was  difficult 
for  the  females  to  obtain  husbands,  as  a  portion  of  the  curse  of  the 
father  would  rest  upon  them. 

Peter  Jones  relates  the  following  of  a  female  relative  of  his,  Wah- 
bimosay  (she  who  walks  in  the  morning).  She  had  been  to  Toronto 
to  sell  baskets,  and  returned  part  of  the  way  by  tram,  her  first  expe- 
rience of  railway  travel.  Upon  getting  off  the  train  she  threw  her- 
self flat  upon  the  ground.  When  questioned,  she  replied  that  she 
was  "  waiting  for  her  soul  to  come." 

One  of  the  last  practices  to  succumb  to  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity was  that  of  witchcraft  and  conjuring.  It  is  related  of  Nahwah- 
jckezJicgivaby  (Joseph  Sawyer),  that  at  one  time  the  tribe  considered 
him  under  the  influence  of  the  evil  spirit,  and  told  him  that  a  certain 
medicine-man  had,  by  his  art,  deprived  him  of  his  soul.  They  em- 
ployed a  conjuror  to  restore  it.  After  the  usual  ceremony,  he  claimed 
to  be  successful,  and  presented  the  afflicted  man  his  soul  in  a  cup 
of  whiskey.  This  the  latter  drank,  and  his  spirit  returned  to  him 
again.  In  the  year  1827  an  Indian  of  the  Credit  was  converted  from 
witchcraft,  and  destroyed  his  implements;  in  1828  a  woman  who 
practised  witchcraft  was  among  the  converts  on  the  Bay  of  Quint6. 

Among  the  feasts  of  the  Mississaguas  are  mentioned  the  name 
feast,  the  dog  feast,  the  deer,  salmon,  sturgeon,  wild-goose,  and 
sacred  bear-oil  feast,       „^^  ^  _. .,    _ .,.    .^._,^_^^^^,^ 

Charlevoix  has  described  the  war-dance  and  the  fire-dance  as  per- 
formed by  the  Mississaguas  at  Cataraqui  in  1721.  Equipped  in  gay 
attire,  their  faces  horribly  bedaubed  with  paint,  they  sang  their  war- 
songs  to  the  sound  of  the  chichikou^  (a  gourd  filled  with  pebbles  and 


Notes  on  the  Mississagua  Indians.  159 

shaken),  the  universal  Algonkin  musical  instrument.  The  manner 
of  the  fire-dance  was  this  :  In  the  cabin  a  fire  was  lit ;  near  it  sat  a 
man  beating  a  drum,  another  shook  the  chichikoiii  and  sang.  This 
continued  for  two  hours  of  wearisome  repetition.  Then  five  or  six 
women  appeared,  ranged  themselves  in  a  line,  and  danced  and  sang 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  the  fire  was  put  out,  and  all  tbat 
could  be  seen  was  a  dancing  savage  with  a  coal  of  fire  in  his  mouth. 
The  noise  of  the  drum  and  chichikoii^  was  kept  up,  and  from  time 
to  time  the  women  danced  and  sang.  This  performance  was  said 
to  continue  till  daylight.  Something  similar  to  this  enlivened  the 
islands  and  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Quintd  in  the  early  years  of  this 
century,  but  since  their  conversion  the  Indians  have  long  ago  for- 
gotten these  things.  Their  talent  for  singing  has  been  directed  to 
the  camp-meeting  and  the  church,  and  some  of  them  are  said  to 
sing  beautifully ;  others  are  good  performers  upon  the  flute  ;  while 
a  short  time  ago  the  Salvation  Army,  with  its  musical  accompani- 
ments, charmed  away  some  of  the  members  of  the  Chemong  Lake 
tribe  into  its  ranks. 

From  the  manuscript  referred  to  above,  I  transcribe  a  few  short 
snatches  of  song,  with  the  French  spelling :  — 

{a)  Love  Song.  Otika  tatacouchin  iiini  mouchin-h^n.  (I  hope  to 
see  thee  soon,  my  love.) 

(;)  H anting  Song.  Waguiouini  M  !  waguiouiiii  hi !  (He  has 
crooked  horns.)     {Bis) 

{c)  Song.  Manitou  ouistoja,  ha,  ha  !  maniiou  oidstoja,  ha,  ha ! 
(The  blacksmith  is  a  demon,  yes,  yes  ! )     {Bis.) 

{a)  Song  of  the  conjuror.  Oukaqiiiqua  niponmifi,  quiticog  mani- 
tou-oii.     {Bis.)     (The  gods  say  that  we  shall  die  one  day.)     {Bis.) 

{e)  Ya  ninqtiicotie  qiiionipinan  ningiiiscioml  (I  turn  the  heavens 
upside  down.) 

These  resemble  in  some  respects  those  recorded  by  Schoolcraft. 

Mr.  Salt,  of  Parry  Island,  mentions,  in  a  communication  above 
referred  to,  that  he  knew  an  Indian,  not  now  living,  who  would  sit 
up  all  night  giving  the  names  of  the  stars  and  relating  the  legends 
about  them. 

Under  date  of  June  18,  1888, 1  received  a  communication  from  Mr. 
John  Thackeray,  the  Indian  agent  at  the  Mississagua  settlement  at 
Alnwick,  from  which  I  quote  :  "  I  laid  your  communication  before  a 
general  meeting  of  the  Indians  here,  held  on  the  4th  inst.  They 
state  that  they  have  no  old  songs,  stories,  or  beliefs  peculiar  to 
them  ;  in  fact,  a  great  many  of  the  Indians  here  cannot  speak  the 
Indian  language."  The  writer  hopes  soon  to  investigate  this  sub- 
ject thoroughly. 

Some  little  tradition  regarding  the  Natowi  (Iroquois  and  Mo- 


i6o  yournal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 

hawks),  their  ancient  enemies,  still  remains.  A  grass-grown  mound 
en  the  shore  of  Rice  Lake  marks  the  graves  of  a  Mohawk  settle- 
ment destroyed  by  the  Mississaguas  years  ago.  Near  Mill  Point, 
on  the  Bay  of  Quint6,  and  at  a  point  near  Burlington  Bay,  tradition 
has  it  that  desperate  battles  took  place,  as  also  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Credit  and  on  Mississagua  Island  in  the  Bay  of  Quints.  Though 
the  fear  of  Mohawk  invasion  has  long  subsided,  the  dread  of  the 
name  still  lingers,  and  less  than  fifty  years  ago  the  villages  at  Rice, 
Mud,  and  Scugog  lakes  have  been  known  to  be  temporarily  deserted 
merely  from  the  prevalence  of  reports  that  the  Mohawks  were 
coming.  The  same  fear  of  the  Iroquois  pervaded  the  village  of  the 
Credit  Indians,  and  is  said  to  exist  at  the  present  moment  amongst 
the  Chippewas  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Superior. 

A.  F.  Chamberlain. 
Toronto,  Ont. 


/     ,'  ,'ja  >.i 


